Building Classes & Domains
Class Anatomy
A class grants:
- two domains, the decks its cards come from
- starting Evasion and starting Hit Points
- class items, a unique set of starting gear
- a class feature or set of features
- a Hope feature, a special move costing 3 Hope
A subclass grants:
- a Spellcast trait, if it casts spells
- a foundation feature, the starting identity of the subclass
- a specialization feature, gained by leveling up
- a mastery feature, its most powerful feature, gained at higher levels
Each subclass feature has a card that players take as a level-up advancement.
Benchmarks From This Project
Across the 13 class records, starting Evasion runs 9–12 and starting HP runs 5–7. Every class starts with 6 Stress. Damage thresholds don't come from the class: they're the armor's base thresholds plus the character's level, so don't add thresholds to a class.
Domain Cards
Every card has a level (1–10), a Recall Cost, and a type: ability, spell, or grimoire. Grimoires belong only to Codex. Players can take only cards at or below their level and hold five in their loadout. Recall Costs measured across this project's domain records:
| Card Level | Recall Cost Range | Cards Measured |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0–2 | 30 |
| 2 | 0–2 | 20 |
| 3 | 1–2 | 20 |
| 4 | 0–3 | 20 |
| 5 | 0–2 | 20 |
| 6 | 0–2 | 20 |
| 7 | 0–2 | 20 |
| 8 | 0–3 | 20 |
| 9 | 0–4 | 20 |
| 10 | 0–4 | 20 |
Use these ranges, and the existing cards at the same level, as the benchmark when you write a new card.
Extending a Domain
A domain card's text is its whole scope. Players can flavor a spell but can't extend its effect, so write exactly what the card does, what it costs in Hope or Stress, and when it ends. Spells with no stated end continue until a character or the GM ends them, or until the fiction does.